Why Cara Delevingne Is Being Accused of Stealing

Her latest project is at the center of a controversy.

On Sunday, Cara Delevingne posted a picture of herself and a friend wearing a sweatshirt reading, "The Future Is Female." She shared that because so many people had asked her about it, she would be putting the design up for sale, with the proceeds going to "Girl Up!" Almost instantly, though, she found herself at the center of a controversy.

It's not immediately clear if that means Cara's version is a ripoff. Otherwild didn't come up with the slogan either; it originated in feminist works from 1972, and the idea for the shirt itself came from a 1975 photo. In a statement posted to their Instagram, Otherwild says it asked for permission from everyone involved to reproduce the slogan, and that in order for Cara's version to not be a copy, she would have had to change something about the design to make it her own.

Though Cara hasn't issued a formal statement, she responded to commenters on her Instagram page, pointing out that the phrase doesn't belong to Otherwild and that she didn't copy them. But as Otherwild and its supporters point out, Cara could have easily used her platform to support a small, queer-owned business who were also selling the sweatshirts for a good cause — 25 percent of their sales go to Planned Parenthood. They argue it goes against the message of the sweatshirt to copy the work of fellow feminists.

Still, it's gotten very messy since Cara posted yesterday. Now commenters are leaving messages in support of Otherwild like "MODEL BRAIN! Must be hollow!" and calling Cara a "celezbian" — which of course, isn't very feminist either. On the flip side, Cara's supporters are leaving comments like, "Classic example of why the phrase 'lesbians love a drama' was coined," and accusing Otherwild of using Cara for press.

All in all, it's a sad situation surrounding what should have been a great movement for both sides. If the future is female, that means all females, whether they work in fashion or own small businesses — and it should mean being a little kinder to one another, too.